Takagi catches the eye in front of Zico's gk coach
There was only one candidate for the Man of the Match award after the Verdy-Sanfrecce game at Ajinomoto Stadium on Saturday.
It was goalkeeper Yoshinari Takagi, who produced a faultless display between the posts to earn his team a 0-0 draw.
Takagi was not too happy to receive the award. He would have preferred one of the outfield players to have been named Man of the Match for inspiring Verdy to a much-needed victory, but, on the day, Verdy had to defend for long periods.
Takagi, therefore, was the only logical choice, as he made a string of acrobatic and agile saves to keep out Sanfrecce in the second half.
Although Takagi was quite angry when he returned to the dressing rooms, maybe there was some consolation in the fact that Zico's goalkeeper coach, Cantarele, and Zico's brother and assistant, Edu, were sitting in the Press seats watching the game.
With so many matches coming up for the Olympic team, who will need a goalkeeper as one of their three overage players in Athens, and for the national team in the next few months, Takagi's heroics cannot fail to have impressed Cantarele.
Hopefully Cantarele will have put the name of Takagi on the list, alongside Narazaki, Doi, Sogahata and Tsuzuki.
Takagi has a strong physique for a keeper. He is 1.85 meters tall and weighs a sturdy 86 kgs. He is 24 years old, 25 next month, which is still young for a keeper, and has now made 53 league appearances for Verdy.
Someone who has admired Takagi from day one at Verdy is their former captain, Tsuyoshi Kitazawa.
Before the start of the 2003 season, I asked Ki-chan to select his all-time Best Eleven from the J.League, going back 10 seasons to the kick-off in 1993.
He was allowed to pick three foreign players in the team.
His initial choice for goalkeeper took me by surprise: he said Takagi!
After thinking about it for a while, though, and considering Takagi's brief time in the league compared to many other keepers, Ki-chan decided on Kawaguchi.
From that point on, I have studied Takagi closely, and can see why Ki-chan was so impressed.
The Verdy fans know it, too, as they sang "Yoshinari" after the final whistle against Sanfrecce.
Like Takagi, I am sure the home fans were wishing an outfield player had been the hero of the day.
ends
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